Mechanism for automatically resetting spinning frame builder motion

ABSTRACT

A drum gear carrying a ratchet is coupled to the chain drum of a builder motion by a one way clutch permitting movement of the chain drum and drum gear in one direction until released when a predetermined amount of chain is let off. When released and the weight removed from the drum as a result of bearing down the ring rail, the drum is free to turn allowing the rewinding of the chain responsive to a spring which was wound as the chain is let off. After rewinding the chain, the ratchet is engaged with respect to the chain drum preventing premature rewinding of the chain, if for any reason the weight is taken off the rail as when the rail is depressed to permit restarting the frame.

United States Patent [191 Ayers et al.

[451 Nov. 25, 1975 1 MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY RESETTING SPINNINGFRAME BUILDER MOTION [75] lnventors: Bobby R. Ayers; Bobby G. Sanders;William E. Hanvey, all of Anderson.

[73] Assignee: Seabrook, Inc., Anderson, S.C.

[22] Filed: Jan. 6, 1975 21 Appl. No.: 538,969

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1964 Jones, Sr 242/2649/1966 Edler et al7 242/261 3.325 l l0 6/1967 Edler et al. 242/261Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Attorney, Agent. or Firm-Bailey &Dority [57] ABSTRACT A drum gear carrying a ratchet is coupled to thechain drum of a builder motion by a one way clutch permitting movementof the chain drum and drum gear in one direction until released when apredetermined amount of chain is let off. When released and the weightremoved from the drum as a result of bearing down the ring rail, thedrum is free to turn allowing the rewinding of the chain responsive to aspring which was wound as the chain is let off. After rewinding thechain, the ratchet is engaged with respect to the chain drum preventingpremature rewinding of the chain, if for any reason the weight is takenoff the rail as when the rail is depressed to permit restarting theframe.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Ndv.25, 1975 Shed 1 of23,921,924

Eda:- Pl

US. Patent N0v.25, 1975 Sheet2of2 3,921,924

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY RESETTING SPINNING FRAME BUILDER MOTION Thisinvention relates to mechanism for automatically resetting a spinningframe builder motion without the necessity of external means. On mostexisting spinning frames, it is necessary to manually rewind the chaindrum after bearing down the ring rail. The bearing down of the ring railrelieves the force normally exerted on the chain of the builder motionby the ring rail permitting rewinding of the chian drum by rewinding thepick wheel. The pick wheel is usually rewound by manually turning theshaft on which the builder worm is mounted. This, in turn, rewinds thechain on the chain drum. Many efforts have been made to providemechanical mechanism for automatically carrying out this operation. Suchattempts to solve the problem have involved the use of relativelycomplicated mechanisms which, although automatic, require the use ofsome externally actuated mechanism for setting the automatic mechanismin motion for carrying out the rewinding operation. In this connection,an externally actuated tripping means generally sets in operation somesort of spring force to do the rewinding. Exemplary of such devices arethe disclosure of the following US. Pat. Nos. 3,138,339, 3,325,110 and3,270,972.

Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide asimple, reliable mechanism for automatically rewinding the buildermotion chain during bearing down the ring rail of a spinning frame.

Another important object of the invention is to rewind the chain of aspinning frame builder motion automatically and without the necessity ofexternal means for setting the mechanism in motion.

It has been found that by employing a one wayclutch to provide a drivingconnection between the drum and the drum gear that upon bearing down thering rail the spring will rewind the chain on the drum, a ratchet beingprovided preventing such rewinding the drum in the event the weightexerted by the ring rail upon the chain is released before the buildingoperation is complete.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The construction designed to carry outthe invention will be hereinafter described, together with otherfeatures thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawingsforming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevation illustrating a spinning framebuilder motion constructed in accordance with the present invention,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic side elevation further illustrating thechain drum rewinding mechanism shown in the lower right hand portion ofFIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 33 in FIG.2, and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation taken on the line 44 in FIG.2.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The drawing illustrates a buildermotion for a spinning frame, a twister and the like, having means forbearing down the ring rail. Means, in the form of the usual chain drum,are progressively advanced with movement in one direction responsive totraverses of the ring rail. This movement results in unwinding aflexible member of chain to control the extent of respective traversesfor building a yarn package. One way clutch means A permit the drum tolet the chain off as usual by providing a connection between the drumand the drum gear. A ratchet means automatically engages to fix the drumwith respect to the drum gear against movement therebetween untilreleased to permit rewind. Resilient means B urge the durm in theopposite direction to cause a return movement of the chain drumindependent of the chain gear and pick gear. Thus, upon bearing down thering rail the force normally exerted on the flexible member is removedresulting in said resilient means moving the drum in said oppositedirection, rewinding said chain preparatory to another buildingoperation. A stop positively limits movement of the drum in saidopposite direction to assure proper positioning of the ring rail.

The drawing illustrates a Whitin spinning frame equipped with a buildermotion constructed in accordance with the invention, but the inventionmay be employed with spinning frame mechanisms of other manu-. facture,varying somewhat from the mechanism disclosed. The spinning frame isillustrated as having an end frame member 10 which carried the usualstationary spinning or bolster rail 11. Spindles 12 are carried forrotation in the bolster rail and carry the usual bobbins 13. The ringrail 14 traverses in a vertically reciprocating motion to build the yarnpackage upon the bobbins 13. The ring rail 14 traverses in a verticallyreciprocating motion to build the yarn package upon the bobbins 13. Theextent of the traverse of the ring rail varies generally building fromthe lower end of the bobbin toward the top in a well-known manner. Thebuilder motion with which the present invention is generally concernedcontrols the extent of each traverse of the ring rail. It will becomeapparent that as the chain 15 is unwound in the direction of the arrowin FIG. 1 that the ring rail 14 will be permitted to move to a higherposition on each succeeding traverse with respect to the bobbins 13.

The builder motion has a pivotal connection (not shown) at the back endthereof upon a shaft 17 which is carried by the frame 10. The usualbuilder motion cam (not shown) moves the builder motion 16 up and downabout its pivot point on the shaft 17 causing the chain 15 which passesover the pulley 15a to move the ring rail 14 up and down on itstraverses. It will be observed that one end of the chain is fixed upon apin 18 carried upon the chain drum 19. The other end of the chain 15 iscarried by the arc arm 20 which has fixed connection with the rock shaft21. The rock shaft is carried in a bracket 22 which has fixed connectionupon the underside of the bolster rail 11 as by bolts 23. The lifter arm24 also has fixed connection upon the rock shaft 21 for raising andlowering the lifter rod 25. The lifer rod 25 is carried in bearings 26which pass through the bolster rail 11 and has fixed connection as at 27with the ring rail. The weight 28 tends to turn the rock shaft 21 in acounterclockwise direction to cause upward movement of the ring railduring its traverse. The pedal 29 permits the operator with his foot todepress the lifter arm turning the rock shaft in a clockwise directionto lower or bear down the ring rail preparatory to doffing.

The pawl serves to turn the pick wheel 31 one increment on each traverseof the ring rail. Such is accomplished by the free end thereof engaginga stop 32 which is carried on the bracket 33 fixed to the frame 10. Aworm 34 is carried on the worm shaft 35 on which the pick wheel 31 hasfixed mounting. The worm, in turn, drives the drum gear 36. The drumgear 36 has rotatable mounting upon a longitudinal shaft 37 which isfixed by the bolt 38 to the builder motion housing 39. The shaft 37carries a reduced extension 40 which has fixed connection with one end41 of the resilient means in the form of the coiled spring B and withthe chain drum 19 as at 42. The chain drum is mounted to freely rotateon the shaft 37. As the drum gear is turned in increments by the pickwheel during spinning, such motion is transmitted to the chain drum 19which advances permitting the force exerted by the chain upon the drumto release the chain by an amount commensurate with the incrementalmovement of the pick wheel.

A ratchet means including a ratchet gear 43 is fixed to the drum gear 36and is releasably engaged with the chain drum 19 until a predeterminedamount of chain is let off as the traverse of the ring rail rises duringa building operation. The ratchet gear 43 is disengaged when apredetermined amount of chain is let off allowing the chain drum 19 torotate freely in the opposite direction on the fixed shaft 37 permittingsame to rewind in response to the spring B connected to the shaft andthe chain drum and which is wound during let off of the chain. Rewindoccurs when the weight of the rail is removed from the chain drum as aresult of bearing down of the rail. During let off, the chain drum isconnected to the drum gear by the one way clutch 44.-

The ratchet keeps the chain from rewinding during a filling or buildingoperation as might occur as a result of temporary removal of weight dueto depressing the rail to permit restarting of frame.

It will be observed that the resilient means B is recessed within acavity 45 within the chain drum 19 and provided with a cover 46. Theratchet gear is carried within a flange 46a extending from the drumandis connected by pins 47 to the drum gear 36 rotatably mounted onbearings 48 on the fixed shaft.

A pin 50 is carried on a cam element 51 for engagement with the ratchetgear 43 as shown in FIG. 4. Detent means including a spring biased ballis provided for engaging one of the depressions 500 or 50b for retainingthe pin engaged or disengaged. An actuating element 52, carried by theframe 39 extends beneath the camming element 51 to release the pin 50from the ratchet gear 43 just prior to bearing down the rail. An Iactuating element 53 is provided to engage the pin connecting the chaindrum and chain gear against premature rewind during a buildingoperation.

It is thus seen that a simple mechanical means, which required noexternal actuation, automatically rewinds the builder motion chainpreparation to another spinning operation.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has i been described usingspecific terms. such description is for illustrative purposes only, andit is to be understood 1 that changes and variations may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. For use in a builder motion for a spinning frame,

a twister and the like having means for bearing down the ring rail, anda chain drum progressively advanced with movement in one directionresponsive to movement of a drumgear, initiated by traverses of the ringrail, for unwinding a chian and the like connected to the chain drum andthe ring rail to control the extent of respective traverses of the ringrail for building a '3 yarn package, the improvement including: a oneway clutch coupled between chain drum and said drum gear permitting saidmovement of said chain drum progressively advanced in one directionprior to bearing down. the ring rail; releasable means engaging saidchain drum and said drum gear for joint rotation of said chain drum andsaid drum gear during a building motion; means engaging said releasablemeans upon completion of a building motion to release said releasable 7means for engagement with said chain drum and said drum gear wherebysaid chain drum can rotate with respect to said drum gear in a chainrewinding direction; resilient means urging said chain drum in anopposite direction rewinding said chain; and means automaticallyengaging said releasable means upon rewind of the chain to re-engagesaid releasable means with said chain drum and said drum gear preventrewinding of the chain during a building motion; whereby upon bearingdown the ring rail the force normally exerted on the flexible member isremoved resulting in said re-.

silient means moving the chain drum in said opposite direction rewindingsaid chain preparatory to another building operation.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein said releasable meansengaging said chain drum and said drum gear includes a ratchet gearcarried by said drum. gear, a pin carried by said chain drum, and cammeans engaging and disengaging said pin with respect to said ratchetgear.

1. For use in a builder motion for a spinning frame, a twister and thelike having means for bearing down the ring rail, and a chain drumprogressively advanced with movement in one direction responsive tomovement of a drum gear, initiated by traverses of the ring rail, forunwinding a chian and the like connected to the chain drum and the ringrail to control the extent of respective traverses of the ring rail forbuilding a yarn package, the improvement including: a one way clutchcoupled between chain drum and said drum gear permitting said movementof said chain drum progressively advanced in one direction prior tobearing down the ring rail; releasable means engaging said chain drumand said drum gear for joint rotation of saId chain drum and said drumgear during a building motion; means engaging said releasable means uponcompletion of a building motion to release said releasable means forengagement with said chain drum and said drum gear whereby said chaindrum can rotate with respect to said drum gear in a chain rewindingdirection; resilient means urging said chain drum in an oppositedirection rewinding said chain; and means automatically engaging saidreleasable means upon rewind of the chain to re-engage said releasablemeans with said chain drum and said drum gear prevent rewinding of thechain during a building motion; whereby upon bearing down the ring railthe force normally exerted on the flexible member is removed resultingin said resilient means moving the chain drum in said opposite directionrewinding said chain preparatory to another building operation.
 2. Thestructure set forth in claim 1, wherein said releasable means engagingsaid chain drum and said drum gear includes a ratchet gear carried bysaid drum gear, a pin carried by said chain drum, and cam means engagingand disengaging said pin with respect to said ratchet gear.